Raptor Brigade
Backstory The Raptor Brigade is a squad of clone troopers, who were genetically altered. Command observed different clones' behavior in and out of battle. They took the clones with the most personality and with the most victories in battle to be genetically altered to make "Super Soldiers" in the middle of the Clone Wars. All of Raptor Brigade along with one other squad called Hyena Brigade, was taken to Kamino labs to be used as "Test Subjects". The Kaminoans' test worked, they managed to genetically enhance all of their 5 senses by 50% along with giving them more personality and the ability to react to different situations more than the other clones. However, giving more personality also gave them the ability to question orders. Command predicted that we would be out of control soon, so it ordered the execution of both Raptor Brigade and Hyena Brigade, and to wipe all of our files. They learned of this secret and made an escape with the Hyena Brigade. Unfortunately they collided with their new enemy, Command and engaged in a large bloody battle of Clone Vs. Clone. Fortunately they managed to escape Kamino and hid out on the burning world of Tatooine. After 2 weeks Raptor Brigade decided to separate from the Hyena Brigade, and the Raptors traveled to the underworld of Coruscant. Where they lived for a month before realizing that they were slowly going insane. They were breed to fight, and that's what they had to do. Although they hated the Republic now, they still hated the Separatist and they could never join them. Soon they learned of a movement on the planet of Mandalor, where a terrorist organization by the name of "Death Watch" was operating. Death Watch had been attempting to destroy peace on the planet of Mandalor. They decided to travel there and they offered their help to the Duchess, who accepted it, for Mandalor had little security. Her first objective for the Brigade, was to locate and invade the main camp of Death Watch known as "Toben" located on the nearby planet of Carlac. The Raptors accepted and are now trekking through the snowy forests in search of the terrorists. Information Blanks - The Raptor Brigade calls ordinary Clone Troopers "Blanks". Jedi- The Raptor Brigade hates the Republic, and especially Command. However, they have slight respect for the Jedi. Command - Command has been attempting to track down the Raptor and Hyena Brigade for reasons later told in the story. Mandalor - The Raptor Brigade traveled to Mandalor because they needed to fight or they would go insane. It is rare for a Clone Trooper to desert the army, but when one does, they find it extremely difficult to adapt to life without battling. Many even come back and disguise themselves so that they can join the army again. Members - The Raptor Brigade originally had 100 members at the first battle of Geonosis, but 40 were killed in battle leading up to the events of Kamino. Later, with 60 genetically modified men they were able to make their escape from Kamino, however 10 died during the flee. Flash - Commander Flash Flybolter is leader of the Raptor Brigade, however he thinks as himself completely equal to the rest of his squad and doesn't particularly like it when they call him "Commander" or "Sir". Because of this, the squad calls him these names all the time. Touch and taste sense: The touch sense was originally going to be used to feel finger prints, and taste would be to detect chemicals in food or drinks. There isn't much use of enhanced touch and taste besides that, but the Kaminoan scientists were having trouble picking out individual senses to amplify, so they decided to amplify all of them. Chapter 1 - Predators A twig snapped behind us and I whirled towards the noise, activating my flashlight and turning the safety off. I waved my WESTAR- M5 back and forth examining the trees but just like last time, there was nothing there. Something was following us, I knew it. This was the third time I had heard it, there was-- "Do you see anything out there Sir?" It was Trason. "How many times have I told you not to call me Sir? It makes me feel uncomfortable." "Would you prefer if I called you "Ma'am?" He replied. That made me smile a bit. We couldn't see through the darkness of night much, despite our enhanced eye sight. Several inches of our legs would disappear into the snow with every step we took. Our warming mechanisms in our suits would protect us from the temperature, but soon they would run out of power and we would surely freeze. "I hate snow." Someone said. "Are we lost? Said another. Of course we were lost, but I wasn't about to admit that to the men. However I was sure that a few had come to that realization long ago. ]"I think we are going the right way..." I lied. "You THINK? Flash come on, where are we?" Said Leston from behind me. "Well... See-- suddenly I smelled something from behind us and another twig snapped. I ducked behind a tree and squatted down, pointing my hunting rifle into the darkness. I had heard some horrible stories about the predators of Carlaac, stealing away people in the night. I wasn't about to let that happen to my men. I saw nothing, all was eerily silent... Suddenly a large dark figure pushed its way through the bushes and ran towards us. I was ready to shoot when- I saw the creature up close. It was a deer, a cute little deer! I felt like an idiot. "Good job Commander, you saved us from the horrifying raindeer!" Said someone from the back and everyone laughed. "It IS horrifying!" I yelled, then chuckled slightly. "He's cute, I wish we could take him with us or something." Said Trason. "Yeah he'd be great in a stew!" Replied Croy. "That's not what I meant!" "We had better get going, the ice is- I started. Suddenly an enormous creature 8 feet high leaped on top of the deer and sunk it's fang's into the neck, the poor animal twitching and flopping violently. My eyes widened and I heard gasps around me. The attacker then ripped the head off the deer and swallowed it! "RUN!" I yelled and we all bolted for safety. The creature lifted its head and stared at us for a second and I recognized it as a Wampa. "We can take it!" Someone yelled, who I thought might have been Colson. Four men stopped and turned toward the Wampa. "I haven't had a decent fight in ages!" The man yelled, who I then saw was indeed Colson. I stopped and turned, "Guys come on!" I yelled frantically. "Stop worrying so much Flash, we've got him!" A man in Colson's group of four yelled. The Wampa roared and ran at us. "No you don't understand," I screamed. "Wampas travel in packs!" I yelled as quickly as I could. Colson turned to me, then 3 Wampas came from the sides and jumped on the 3 of the men, knocking their guns from their hands. Colson jumped out of the way but then the first Wampa leaped onto him."NO!" I screamed, raising my gun and firing upon the Wampa on Colson. The Wampa roared, but it did not fall and did not even seem that affected by the shot of energy and it continued to cause Colson to scream. I fired again, this time at a Wampa on a different man with the same response. I kept firing over and over again at the different Wampas but they acted like being shot was just a mosquito bite. "HELP M- AGHLLLlll" Screamed one of the men. Then Trason, Leston, Croy, and a few others ran up to me and started firing at the Wampas. We kept firing at the monsters until one finally collapsed. Then the second, the third, and finally the fourth. They fell over their prey and we had to push the huge, heavy bodies off our men. However, we were met with a horrible sight when we pushed one of he Wampas away. I thought I was going to be sick. Colson, scratch marks covering him completely, a ripped destroyed face, and blood. Everywhere. The snow, before, a perfect twinkling white now a dark red. I had never seen a more horrifying sight. I heard a muffled strained noise come from him. No ordinary man could have heard what he was saying, but we were no ordinary men. At that moment, I wish I hadn't had enhanced hearing. ...K.Ki- Kill... M-M-Meee! K-Kill m-MEEE!" "I... I can't..." I responded, a tear steaming down my face. "...P-Please. PLEASE!" I felt horrible. I couldn't take this. But I knew I had to do it. I had to do it for Colson. I slowly nodded my head, and took out the my pistol. Leston looked at me, and I looked back, then turned toward Colson again."I'm sorry this happened Colson." I said, more tears. I raised it and a shot broke the silence of the night. After this, the Squad emerged from the thicket, then stopped abruptly at the sight of the bodies of the destroyers and destroyed. I didn't want to look at them though, and continued to stare at the ground. Trason then squatted down and offered to examine the bodies for survivors, but I refused. I had to be strong for the Squad. I stood up, and began the process of unveiling the men by pushing the disgusting heavy bodies of the Wampas off them. Each time I did, I was met with the same horrible sight of the worst color. No man had survived. I turned to face the men. "Where the Blast were you when these men were attacked?" I said. I suppose my face looked pretty menacing, because most of the men backed up. "I-I'm sorry Sir! We thought you were behind us!" Said Monty, looking ashamed. "Why don't you tell that to Colson? Or any of those men?" I yelled. Somebody put a hand on my shoulder, then Croy said, "It's not his fault Flash." I suddenly realized how much guilt I was giving my men. "I-I'm sorry." I said, then turned away, looking at the bodies one more time. "We should bury them." I said, gathering strength for what I would have to do in a minute. "We can't, Death Watch Patrols will be around soon." Monty said. I turned and stared at him. "What did you say?" I asked. "Sir, while we were running through the woods, we found it. We found the Death Watch camp." Chapter 2 - The Cliff "Where is it?" I asked. "Not far, just up ahead." Monty responded. "Then we'll have to make this quick." I said, determined. I walked away and took my helmet off and began digging a hole with it. The men looked at each other, then timidly started walking over to the bodies one by one. The entire process took about a half hour with the combined help from each of the Raptors, but we got it done. When it was complete I stepped back, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright. Let's get the Blast out of here." "Best order you've ever given Commander." Someone said. Without saying a word, Monty lead us through the woods to Toben. We had only traveled for about 5 minutes before we came to a cliff, where below we could clearly see a camp full of Death Watch soldiers in the distance. "Its a pretty far drop. How are we going to get down there?" Leston asked. I peered down, the wind rushing past me. There was no way we could drop down, it was too far, and it was too icy to free climb. I pondered for a second before coming to a solution. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way. Get out your ropes and start tying." I ordered, taking off my backpack. Everyone immediately did the same and began searching through them to find their ropes. A few men stared at me for a couple seconds, clearly meaning: "You can't be serious," but I ignored it. I sat down on a log and searched through until I found my huge, rough bundle of rope. I then wrapped the rope around the strongest looking tree I could find and tied a firm knot. When I looked up almost everyone was done. But suddenly, something hit me as I stared at the men.Something was wrong that I couldn't pinpoint. I had a feeling that I was missing something that was staring me right in the face, but I couldn't figure out what. "Flash, are you okay? You look a little dazed." I shook my head quickly and looked up, Leston was in front of me looking at me oddly. "I'm fine, let's go." I said as I stood up. We walked over to the edge of the cliff, and I threw the rest of the rope down the cliff, watching gravity do its job. Without the proper equipment, this could be very dangerous. However, we were all very strong so I had some confidence. I cautiously inched closer and closer to the cliff, until I was at the very edge. I then sat down, my legs hanging over. The rope was right there, now all I had to do was grab it. Sweat trickled down my temple inside my helmet as I foolishly looked down, letting an odd sound escape my mouth. "Uhnhh" Even with intense training, I still had an irrational fear of heights that I had always kept hidden. It was a few seconds before I gathered the courage, then, without thinking, I grabbed ahold of the rope with both hands and swung my body over the cliff. I slid down a few feet, hugging the rope and holding on tightly. I was terrified that I would fall to my death, but fortunately I came to a stop. However, my hands were not so fortunate. Even though we all had gloves on, our amplified touch sense made the pain much more intense. Sometimes I wished I hadn't had enhance senses. Although they were valuable in many situations, they could also be a hindrance. "Careful Flash." Monty said, looking down. I nodded slightly, then moved my hand downwards on the rope, then the other, and the process of descending began. The others slowly began copying me on their own ropes. I was greatly wishing I could take my heavy armor off without freezing, but of course, I couldn't. I had made it about a quarter of the way down, and the pain was horrible. I had certainly gotten a rug burn from my initial slide down the rope, and my nervous system was letting me know it. Just one hand in front of the other, I thought. My muscles were burning from the heavy weight of my gear and I felt as if the only way i'd make it to the bottom, was if I was falling. Up to this point I had my eyes fixed on the mountain in front of me, but now curiosity outweighed fear and I glanced downwards, seeing that I was about half way down the cliff. This gave me new energy and adrenaline flooded in. Just a little bit further Flash! Just a little bit further! ''I screamed to myself over and over again inside my head. ''Just a little bit further and everything will be- ''Suddenly, I was falling. I let go of the rope and it fell with me. The wind rushed passed me and I screamed, then screamed again. I was terrified, but confusion also joined the fear. Many questions flooded my mind like a tidal wave. Why was this happening? Why was this happening to me? How did it happen? Until the confusion left and all I knew was that it was happening. I was going to die. I was now very close to the bottom. 7 meters, 6 meters. I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared for the impact. Suddenly something hit me from the side hard, and my eyes shot open. The next instant, I was sent headlong into the thin layer of snow, tumbling and rolling, the sound of my armor cracking, and nothing but snow and a few rocks in my visor. Then I came to a stop mid somersault, letting my legs hang for a few seconds before letting them fall into the snow. I lay there, losing track of time, asking the same question of, What just happened? Over and over again. For a split second I thought I was dead, but I knew better than that. Suddenly a helmet appeared above me, and I gasped as I recognized its unique design. "Hey there, Fly. That'll be 130 credits please." Said Jagger Skirita. I was shocked, what was a Hyena Brigade member doing here? He offered a hand and helped me up. Once I was on my feet, I immediately asked what had happened. Suddenly I smelled the distinguishable odor of jet pack fuel and smoke, something that I now realized I had smelled earlier, but it hadn't registered. "Well, you decided that jumping off a cliff would be fun, and I had to rescue you. Really Fly, you shouldn't be doing these things, It could be dangerous." I then saw a jet pack on his back, and I put the pieces together. While I was falling, he had flown in from the side and shoved me sideways, preventing the impact from a direct fall. "Sorry dad, I won't do it anymore." I said sarcastically. "I wasn't kidding, once you get ahold of some, I want you to give me 130 credits. And since I wasted my time talking to you, I now need 140." Jagger said. I knew that he meant it, he had always been like this, that was the reason why I never particularly liked him. "Why are you here Jagger?" I asked. I was grateful that he had saved me, but right now I was a bit irritated. "I was about to ask the same question, Raptor." Jagger replied, folding his arms. I then noticed the rest of the squad frantically trying to descend as fast as they could, yelling to me, but I ignored it, turning back to Jagger. I found no reason to hide it from him, so I simply said, "We're on a mission for the Duchess of Mandalor, we're trying to take this main camp of Death Watch." Jagger paused for a moment before replying. "Interesting." "What?" I said. Jagger shifted. "What?" I repeated. "We're on the same mission, given to us by Duchess Satine. The rest of the Brigade is keeping an eye on the camp. " He said. I was hit by a wave of confusion. Why would Satine send both Raptor Brigade and Hyena Brigade to do one job, and why would she not mention that the other group would be coming? "That makes no sense." I said, not meaning for it to be out loud. I then saw that Trason and a few others had reached the ground and were running towards me, I started running over to them, but I tripped over something and fell for the second time that day. Jagger cracked up laughing. I sat up and saw what I had tripped over. It was the rope, but then I noticed something about it, I picked it up and stared at it. Jagger stopped laughing as he must have seen it as well. He squatted down beside me and in a serious tone, I said, "Look at this. It's been cut." Just then Trason reached me, panting. "Flash! Are- are you alriii-... Who's that guy?" He pointed at Jagger, who stared at the finger. I was shocked about the recent discovery, and didn't answer. "Jagger Skirita, Mandalorian, Clone, Hyena, Null, and the one who made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs," Jagger responded, cockily. ''The rope ''had been cut. Did one of my squad members do this? If so who? And why? ''So many questions, not enough answers. "Hyena? Hyena... Jagger Skirita...Wait I remember you, you were in the Hyena Brigade! What are you doing here?" Trason responded. Jagger replied instantly with, "Getting credits. 140 to be exact." "M...Hm. But Flash, Trason turned to me, "Are you okay? What happened?" He sounded genuinely worried. I eyed him. Could HE be the one who cut the rope? No- No Trason would never do something like that! But... then again, anybody is a suspect. I thought, emotions conflicting. Anger, sadness, worry, confusion, I couldn't make up my mind which one I felt. One of my ''brothers ''had maybe tried to kill me! "Flash?" Trason repeated. Anger swelled, finally becoming the dominant emotion for the time being. "I'm fine!" I yelled l loudly. Trason was quiet. As was all of the squad, which the last of had just made it down. I pushed past him and walked away, not knowing where I was going. "Hey Flash where are you going? Croy asked, at least I thought it was Croy. "Scouting", I muttered, not caring if they had heard or not. I wasn't really going to scout, I just wanted to get away from here. Jagger jogged up to me. I didn't want to deal with him so I just ignored him, that is until I thought of something. I leaned closer to him, then whispered the question. "Do you think it could be a Death Watch who did it? Who cut the rope?" I couldn't help but feel a little hopeful, if it was a Death Watch member, then no one in my squad did it. Jagger kept silent for a moment, walking beside me still, before answering. "No. I know everything about Death Watch, and that's not their style. They wouldn't target a single person, and if they didn't like Republic presence here then they would go in guns blazing. They are very proud people, they wouldn't make their kills in secret." Just then another idea came to me. I was about to ask him if it could be an animal, before remembering there were no bite marks.